What does the work of painter Renoir and his paintings of full-bodied women (2.15; 12.34), tanning beds (2:30) have to do with the Quebecois author Marie Claire Blais (3:15) and La Belle Bette/Mad Shadows (3:20)? Have a listen to today’s episode to find out  … In this episode, Linda looks at Blais’s Mad  Shadows and its historical importance to Quebec. Among other subjects, she also references: Value Village, Holt Renfrew 1:3; 11:58 ) Sheila Fischman (3:45) New Yorker (4:47; 16:11) Margaret Atwood (4:58; 16:24 ) Andre Gide, Andre Breton (5:22; 17:04 ) Karen Kain, Vero ..read more

In this episode, Linda and Bryn Turnbull discuss her new historical novel, The Paris Deception - and what it means to represent women's lives historically when there has been inadequate records or representation for them. Linda considers the Indigo Girls and their song about Virginia Woolf - and listening attentively to the voices of women through time. Turnbull alludes to The Monuments Men (both the movie and the book) and her novel as an equivalent for women to such a story. Among other topics, we address necessary deceptions (18.56) significant visual art work still missing since the Seco ..read more

Michael V. Smith is a deeply loving, insightful poet and performer – who uses intimacy and humour as tools to explore pain. In this interview, Linda chats with him about power dynamics and bullying, as they address his poetry collection, Queers Like Me (published by Book*hug in 2023) Here are some of the subjects we covered:   on the nature of creative writing and genre (6.15) poetic technique, poetic devices, and poetic voice (verbatim poems: 6.45, 8.00, 42.43) Facebook poem and writing about his father (9.35, 10.48, 27.50, 32.20) depictions of masculinity  (21.40 ..read more

Eloise Marseille is the first guest for Season 5 - yes, season 5! - and, this time, it's English AND French (starting at the 31.55 mark for the French interview). Marseille is a wonderful Quebecoise graphic novelist, whose candid and humorous book, Naked: The Confessions of a Normal Woman / Confessions d'une Femme Normale examines sexuality and self-love--especially as it bears on women, cis- and trans-. Linda begins with a reference to the feminist theory courses she teaches and some of the theorists, like Kimberlé Crenshaw, and how sometimes students say "do we need feminist theory any more ..read more

Linda wishes her listeners a very happy holiday - and offers a hint about what to expect for at least the first episode of Season 5! Have a restful, joyful period. Getting Lit With Linda returns on March 1, 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information ..read more

In this episode, Linda chats with Dr. Katherine McLeod about her role in the SpokenWeb Podcast, particularly Short Cuts. The conversation covers so much ground in such a short period! We discuss the following: The Short Cuts podcast (6.20, 9:21, 14.05, 18:47) Women poets, such as Gwendolyn MacEwan, Phyllis Webb (15:27), Muriel Rukeyser, Maxine Gadd, Margaret Atwood (8.22; 8.54; 10:03), Daphne Marlatt (18:55), Dionne Brand (11:23), and Brand with Lee Maracle (a member of the Stó:lō Nation; 12.05; 15:25) Feminist practices of listening (9:20) Holding the sound (11:00)  CBC Radio, the hist ..read more

Linda is thrilled to have been able to conduct this interview with one of the foremost feminist scholars in Canada right now—Erin Wunker. They speak about her book Notes from a Feminist Killjoy, published by book*hug, and the important work it undertakes in relation to the labour of being a “feminist killjoy.” Don’t know what a feminist killjoy is? Give this interview a listen to find out more. Here are only some of the key points of the discussion: ·    About Erin Wunker (2.46)   ·   About the book itself: Notes from a Feminist Killjoy (book*hug p ..read more

In this episode -- recorded live in Tiohtià:ke in the DeSeve Cinema at Concordia University -- Linda interviews award-winning authors, Catherine Hernandez and Eva Crocker. Linda begins by thanking celebrated Montreal-based author, Christopher DiRaddo, who is the director of the Violet Hour and who opens the event with a territorial acknowledgement and with an introduction to the authors. The Violet Hour and the Association of English-Language Publishers of Quebec (AELAQ) co-sponsored the event, so Linda also recognizes the superb professionalism of the team at AELAQ, including Rebecca West, Al ..read more

In this episode, Linda reflects on Dionne Brand's magnificent A Map to the Door of No Return: Notes to Belonging, reprinted by Vintage (a division of Random House) in 2023 - but initially published over twenty years ago. That's the staying power of this particular volume - the "Door of No Return" is a particularly harrowing metaphor and, as Linda notes, there are many expressions that use "doors" in contemporary usage. Just not like this book does! A prolific and accomplished writer and professor, Brand is referring to the Black diaspora vis-a-vis the Black Atlantic slave trade. To set up thi ..read more

Linda speaks with Métis playwright, actor, and director, Keith Barker about his play, This is How We Got Here (Playwrights Canada Press) It is a moving interview, as Barker explains the origins and shape of this play. Their discussions touch on the following subjects (among others!): current and past productions of the play (3.00; 28.15; 34.10, 36.00) loss and trauma (1.14, 1.50, 4.30, 6.10, 12.56, 19.20, 33.58) structure of This is How We Got Here (1.20, 22.28, 23.25) representations of grief (3.50, 25.08) structure and shape of the play (5.48, 9.05) fox figure (10.04, 17.01, 18.58, 20.45 ..read more